Clothes drying rack



1931- o. .1. KUENHOLD 1,820,026

I CLOTHES DRYING RACK Original File A g- 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEYS,

5, 1901. o. .1. KUENHOLD 1,820,026

CLOTHES DRYING RACK Original Filed Aug. 10, 1925 s Sheets-Shee 2 INVENTOR BY 07-7-0 zfo/r/v KUf/VHOLD ATTORNEYS 1931- o. J. KUENHOLD 1,820,026

CLOTHES DRYING RACK Original Filed Aug. 10, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 4/LJ@ K 7 ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Patented Aug. 25, 1931 OFFICE? OTTO JOHN KUENIIOLD, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO CLOTHES DRYING RACK Original application filed August 10, 1923, Serial No. 656,701. Divided and this application filed December Serial No. 327,694.

v This invention relates to clothes supporting racks for drying apparatus, such as is used, for example, in household laundries and the like, and which apparatus includes an air, 5 heating chamber, a drylng chamber in which are arranged the clothes supporting racks, and the necessary means for producing proper flow of circulation of air through the drying chamber.

The present application is a division of my copending application for drying apparatus, filedAugust 10,1923, Ser. No. 656,701, which has resulted in Patent No. 1,711,799, granted May 7, 1929.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangement of clothes supporting racks with differently offset pivots so that said racks lie in parallel spaced relation within the drying chamber and in closely nesting or neighboring parallel relation when swung outside of said chamber.

Further objects of the invention are in part obvious, and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is in part a front elevation of such drying apparatus, showing one of the cabinet doors open, and in part a broken out sectional elevation on the line 11, Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus on approximately the line 22, Fig. 1, parts being broken away to expose interior parts; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus on the line 33, Fig. 1, showing one arrangement of clothes supporting racks; Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views similar to Fig. 3 and illustrating in somewhat conventional form other arrangementsof clothes supporting racks; and Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively an elevation and a sectional plan view showing details of the racks. 7

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus here shown includes acabinet, of any suitable material, such as galvanized steel or iron,,and of any suitable size and shape, being here shown as rectangular. Said cabinet comprises upper and lower members 2, 3, the upper member forming a relatively large clothes drying chamber at in which are located the present improved racks for supporting the clothes or other material to be dried. The

lower cabinet member includes an air heating chamber 5, theheating devices and the means for controlling the flow of air through the apparatus. Y

The two cabinet members are formed as separate units to facilitate manufacture and for convenience in shipping, storing and transportation to the place of use. For example, the lower member is provided with suitable feet 6 adapted to rest upon the floor or other support, afloor 7, end walls Sand side walls 9, all formed of sheets or plates joined at their edges in the usual manner of such sheet metal Work. Upon-the side and end walls is located a horizontal partitionor wall 10 provided with two openings 11, 12, both preferably provided with removable screens 13 for collecting lint and foreign substances. This wall 10 forms a part of the upper cabinet unit and is the means fortremovably connecting said unit to the base, for which purpose its edges are bent downwardly into U form, as at 1 1, to sleeve over the base and to also receive the lower edges of the side and rear walls 15, 16 of the upper cabinet member;

WVithin the lower cabinet member are located the air heating devices, such as the gas or other heater 20 supplied with fuel from any suitable source and usually provided with a screened air inlet 21. The heated products of combustion from said burner rise through a chamber 22 and pass through a series of vertically elongated horizontally extending pipes or conduits 23 connecting said chamber to a hollow header or manifold 24 from which they flow through a horizontal pipe 25 to a vertical pipe 26 leading to the chimney or other outlet. In one of said pipes, as in pipe 25, is a rotatable valve or damper 27 actuated by a suitable handle (not shown) exposed on the front wall of the casing.

The air for drying the clothes is circulated through the cabinet and during its flow therethrough is heated by but without actual contact or mixture with the products of combustion. In the arrangement shown, the drying air enters the lower cabinet member through the inlet pipe 30 opening directly to the atmosphere and in which may be located a suitable adjustable valve or damper. 31. The incoming air flows horizontally from right to left in Fig. 1, entering chamber 5 and being deflected upwardly by the deflector plates 33 so that it passes between the series of neighboring heating pipes 23 and thence through the screened opening 11 to the'drying chamber 16. It being assumed that the cabinet doors are closed, the heated air rises in the drying chamber 16 and follows approximately the course of the arrows in Fig. 1, passing upwardly, then to the right and then downwardly and flowing out from the drying chamber through the screened opening 12 leading to a chamber or passage 34 from which it flows through an opening in the end wall of the lower unit to a passage 35 in a pipe or conduit 36 rising along one end of the cabinet and surrounding the. pipe .26, pipe 36 being larger than said pipe to leave the annular passage 35 around the pipe 26. i

q The effect of the telescoped or co-axially arranged pipes 26 and 36 is to secure an increased draft of drying air through the apparatus due to the flow of the heated products of combustion in pipe 26. Said pipe serves as a heater to heat and therefore expand the rising air current in the annular passage 35 and thereby induces and accelerates the draft. By proper regulation or adjustment of the position of dampers 31 27, the air current may be caused to flow at any desired speed so as to efficiently dry the material in the least possible time.

Vithin the drying chamber 16 are located the present improved racks for supporting the clothes or other material to be dried. These racks may be of any suitable form but preferably include a series of like frames normally supported within the chamber in parallel vertical planes tosecure the greatest capacity and best distribution of the materials in the drying chamber. In all arrangements of racks shown in the drawings, there are four racks in separate vertical planes, the rear rack comprising a series of horizontal bars 37 spaced from the back wall of the cabinet and lying in parallel horizontal relation in the same vertical plane. The remaining three racks are movably mounted so as to be capable of being moved to a posinse oze parallel vertical planes when in position in y the drying chamber and in parallel position, or at least nearly so, when projected outwardly from the cabinet, thereby affording maximum access to all racks for loading and unloading the same.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, each of the three forward racks comprisestwo vertically extending side bars or pipes 40 connected by horizontal cross bars 41, the three racks being identical as regards theside andcross bars for convenience in quantity production. One of the side bars has secured to its upper and lower ends arms 42 provided with pivot pins 43 entering verticallyaligned openings in the roof and floor of the drying chamber, although the upper opening may be slightly advanced, or in other words, slightly nearer to the door opening than the lower so that the racks have a natural tendency to swing outwardly or to open position. The arms 42for the several racks are of, difierent lengths, as

shown in Figs. 1 and 3, each successive set of pivot pins from front 'to rear being advanced or stepped to the right one step. As consequence, when the three forward racks are swung outwardly, they lie closely adjacent and in parallel relation, enabling them to be readily loaded and unloaded with maximum degree of access to all racks. To releasably hold the racks in drying position, the swinging end bars 40 are provided with pins 44 adapted to engage notches or recesses in an inclined bracket-member 45 attached to the right end wall of the cabinet. Such a bracket member may be fastened to each end Y wall and two sets of pivot openings are provided in the roof and floor so that the racks may be readily installed to swing from the right or from the left, according to convenience in the particular place in which the drier is installed.

Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, show other arrangements of racks which also can be swung outv and the other rearwardly, while the pivot for the second rack is in the axis of its post.-

lVhile both the vertical and horizontal members of the racks may be made ofwood with mortised joints, as is usual, I preferably specially form the racks in a manner to avoid warping either from the effect of moisture on the wood itself or due to the weight of materials hung on the racks. Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate the upper corner of a rackso constructed. The vertical posts 40 are light metal tubes or pipes of stock size, while each horizontal bar 41 has its end portions split, as at 41, and provided with an opening so that the two ears 41 formed by the split may be made to embrace the bar tO. When assembled in proper position, the parts are clamped together by a bolt 1-1. WVith such an arrange ment all parts are firmly held together with out liability of warping and the arms 42 may be suitable metal members threaded, pinned or otherwise secured to the ends of the pipes 40. It should also be noted, particularly by reference to Fig. 1, that the pivot pins for the racks are elongated vertically and the arms 42 normally lie below the roof 17 of the cabinet. Therefore, as each rack is turned back into drying position, its latch pin 44 rides up along the inclined edge of the bracket 45 with slight upward motion of the entire rack until said pin reaches its position in the bracket notch or recess where it is releasably held by gravity. 7

Other arrangementsobviously can be resorted to, but in all cases either the pivots alone, or the racks themselves, or both racks and pivots are offset or stepped either parallel to or both parallel to and lateral to the planes of the racks. The effect is to secure closely nesting or neighboring parallel relation of the racks when open or outside the cabinet as well' as parallel spaced relation when closed 01' within the cabinet.

l/Vhat I claim is:

Drying apparatus, comprising a cabinet provided with a drying chamber, and a series of work holding racks each pivotally mounted at one end upon a vertical axis therein, the axes of the several racks being spaced apart in said chamber sufliciently to provide between adjacent racks the necessary clearance for the swinging of each rack, the axes of the several racks lying in the general planes of said racks and being offset progressively differing distances from the pivoted ends of'said racks, whereby said racks lie parallel to each other when closed within and when opened out from the drying chamber.

In testimony whereof I hereby affix my signature.

OTTO JOHN KUENHOLD. 

